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What's Bath Metal?
Broadstruck
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I just saw a colonial that looked like brass that was described as being Struck in Bath Metal 
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<< <i>Description
This section is from the "Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas Recipes Processes" encyclopedia, by Norman W. Henley and others.
Bath Metal Alloys
This alloy is used especially in England for the manufacture of teapots, and is very popular owing to the fine white color it possesses. It takes a high polish, and articles made from this alloy acquire in the course of time, upon only being rubbed with a white cloth, a permanent silver luster. The composition of Bath metal is copper, 55 parts; zinc, 45 parts.
Baudoin Metal Alloys
This is composed of 72 parts of copper, 16.6 of nickel, 1.8 of cobalt, 1 of zinc; 0.5 per cent of aluminum may be added.
CASTING COPPER:
Macht's Yellow Metal Alloys
I
This alloy consists of 33 parts of copper and 25 of zinc. It has a dark golden-yellow color, great tenacity, and can be forged at a red heat, properties which make it especially suitable for fine castings.
II
Yellow.—Copper, 67 to 70 parts; zinc, 33 to 30 parts.
III
Red.—Copper, 82 parts; zinc, 18 parts. >>
Rosa Americana pieces such as this one were made of an alloy called Bath metal composed of 75% brass, 20% zinc (mixed with tin and bismuth) and 5% silver and were to weigh slightly less than half the weight of English coins. The Bath metal planchets had to be hot when they were impressed between the dies to keep the dies from cracking. The heating of the planchets caused gas bubbles to form in the metal, as the planchets were struck while they were hot, these small bubbles did not have a chance to escape and therefore they produced a porous surface on the coins, often with some discoloration.
(Information taken from Louis Jordan's website for the Department of Special Collections at the University of Notre Dame at http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/RosaAm.intro.html )
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